Surat — As part of a statewide survey focusing on primary education in madrasas, the District Education Officer's teams conducted a comprehensive survey of 39 madrasas in Surat city and district. Over three days, the survey revealed critical data, including that 69 children from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, aged 6 to 14, are receiving only religious education and are not enrolled in any regular schooling.

As per the agency report, the survey, which covered both the city and tehsils of Surat, identified a total of 802 children attending these madrasas. Of these, 69 children were found to be solely engaged in madrasa education without any form of primary education. This raises significant concerns about their educational development, as these children do not attend formal schools.

Primary information suggests that many of these children aim to become Maulvis and may continue their religious education in other states after completing their initial training in Surat. The survey also highlighted administrative challenges, such as incomplete student records and difficulty in contacting parents due to minimal documentation. Furthermore, many of the madrasa records were in Urdu, complicating the verification process for the survey teams.

The findings have prompted a call for better integration of primary education with religious instruction to ensure comprehensive development for all children attending madrasas.